Coach of the Year Added to 2020 Overwatch League Awards
Published: Jul 27, 2020
There’s no doubt that Blizzard’s Overwatch League has been a huge success since it was first developed and contested and despite the fact the Covid-19 pandemic played havoc with the original tournament schedule, the teams have continued to contest their games online.
With the regular season now starting to head towards its climax, Blizzard have announced their plans to reward many of the individuals that have made the 2020 season one to remember and this year, they have added a further category to their 2020 Overwatch League Awards, the Coach of the Year.
The new award will be the sixth to be decided in the ceremony which will also feature the MVP award, the Grand Finals MVP, the Dennis Hawelka Award, Role Stars Award and the Rookie of the Year award.
Public Vote
Of the six awards to be decided, the 2020 T-Mobile Overwatch League MVP will be decided by a fan vote, with the votes being collected between the 7th August, when the ten finalists in this category will be revealed, through to the 28th August. Fans can vote for their favourite MVP either vie Twitter or on overwatchleague.com.
It is a prestigious prize to win for any player as in addition to the MVP Trophy and the chance to wear an MVP jersey patch through the 2021 season, the winner will also receive $100,000 in cash thanks to T-Mobile’s sponsorship offer.
The coveted MVP award was won by Seong-Hyun “Jjonak” Bang of New York Excelsior in 2018 and last year, San Francisco Shock player Jay “Sinatraa” Won, took home the trophy.
The player that is voted the MVP of the Grand Finals, will also receive their own MVP trophy and the same cash amount of $100,000 for being the best player during the final stages of the 2020 Overwatch League season.
Positive Influence
One of the more intriguing awards is the Dennis Hawelka award which is presented to a player that is deemed to be the best example of someone who exudes a positive influence on their team, community or organisation. Each team nominates their own player for this award, with the league office selecting the winner from those names put forward.
The Role Stars award will pick the top four players across each of the three different roles in the game, damage, tank and support. This is a ‘best of the best’ award and players must have played 50% of the maps, or more over the course of the season.
Last year saw the first Rookie of the Year award handed to Vancouver Titans player Hyo-Jong “Haksai” Kim and this award will be selected once again this year with general managers, head coaches, broadcasters and media partners selecting the winner from all rookie players that took part in the Overwatch League this season.
The new Coach of the Year award will recognise the coach that has been the most impactful on their team over the course of the season and once again, general managers, head coaches, broadcasters and the media will be able to vote on this new award.
The winners will start to be revealed from September 3.
Feature Image Credits: Overwatch League
Since: August 10, 2015
